News & Announcements

Clarifications to the NIH and AHRQ Policy for Application Submission

Posted Apr 25, 2014

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announce clarifications to policy on application submissions that was updated recently (NOT-OD-14-074).

Background

On April 17, 2014 the NIH and AHRQ announced a change in policy on application submissions (NOT-OD-14-074):

"Effective immediately, for application due dates after April 16, 2014:

Following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application, applicants may submit the same idea as a new (A0) application for the next appropriate due date.

The NIH and AHRQ will not assess the similarity of the science in the new (A0) application to any previously reviewed submission when accepting an application for review.

Although a new (A0) application does not allow an introduction or responses to the previous reviews, the NIH and AHRQ encourage applicants to refine and strengthen all application submissions."

All of the provisions of the updated submission policy in NOT-OD-14-074 remain in effect. Clarifications are provided below for certain key points that were raised in questions we received.

Clarifications

Due Dates
Questions were received that asked whether a new (A0) application, following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application, could be submitted only for the next, appropriate due date. To clarify, following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application and release of the summary statement, an applicant may submit the same idea as a new (A0) application for any due date in the future that is appropriate for the grant mechanism and Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

An application that was reviewed before April 16th, 2014, as well as any application submitted in the future, could be submitted as a new (A0) application for any subsequent, appropriate due date, if the previous summary statement has been released.

Applicability
Questions were received asking which grant programs fall under the policy. To clarify, the updated policy applies to major types of applications and activity codes - including applications for research grants, the NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, Career Development Awards, Individual Fellowships, Institutional Training Grants, Resource Grants, Program Projects, and Center Grants.

Eligibility criteria and any other restrictions or requirements in the FOA prevail. For example, a fellowship candidate must meet the eligibility requirements for each fellowship application submission.

An application that was not accepted previously for being too similar to a resubmission (A1) application that had been reviewed previously ("virtual A2s") can be submitted now as a new (A0) application.

OptionsThe updated policy allows an investigator to submit a new (A0) application following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application. Subsequent questions asked whether a time limit exists between an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application and the subsequent new (A0) application, whether the number of such cycles is limited, and whether an intervening resubmission (A1) application is required in order to submit a new (A0) application again.

The updated policy has no time limit between an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application and a subsequent, new (A0) application, or between an unsuccessful new (A0) application and a subsequent new (A0) application. The time limit of thirty-seven months between an unsuccessful (A0) application and the subsequent resubmission (A1) application does remain in effect.

The number of submission cycles is not limited, but NIH encourages applicants to update their applications to reflect the status of the field over the interim period and to incorporate new preliminary data, literature citations, letters of reference, etc. as time passes.

The updated policy does not preclude submission of a new (A0) application following an unsuccessful new (A0) application, without an intervening resubmission (A1) application.